From George Bentham   16 April 1868

25, WILTON PLACE, S.W.

April 16/68

My dear Sir

Yours of the 5th Feby¹ reached me two days after the despatch of the last mail together with two or three specimens. Of Stylidium crossocephalum I had found and examined good flowers in the specimens formerly sent and returned to you by the "Wave of Life" with the other Stylidieae Goodenoviaea &c. I shall return the specimen now sent as you desire Niemeyera is Apostasia and we can find no difference between the specimen sent and the smaller ones from the Archipelago of A. nuda — an interesting addition to the Australian Flora. Stylidium bryoides is S. pedunculatum Br. which was not in your collection but which we had from Cunningham and from Armstrong Aldrovanda is a very interesting addition

The Superb is at length just arrived in London and I shall have the box I suppose in a few days Its long delay has put me very much out[.]² I promised not to begin printing till its arrival otherwise I should have had three or four sheets to send you by this mail. I have since I last wrote done Primulaceae Myrsineae Sapoteae Ebenaceae Styraceae Jasmineae Apocyneae and Asclepiadeae and am far advanced in Loganiaceae — some of these of course I shall have to go over again if your specimens arrive in time but they are otherwise ready for press and the succeeding families will I believe afford no great difficulties so that I shall go on speedily The Asclepiadeae are very interesting and took me much time as the analysis is very slow and I had to go over every specimen — I have altogether 47 species besides the introduced Gomphocarpus & Asclepias two in no other but Browns collection but no new genus.

You complain that I do not take time enough to make detailed descriptions — I assure you that it takes longer time to make short than long ones If I were merely to string down long descriptions of the specimens as I make them I could get through a dozen a day and make a much longer but in my opinion a far less practically useful book[.] I of course in first examining a plant note down all I observe — when I have got a certain way through a large genus I begin to see the points common to all the species and which need not be noted if there is no variation Having gone through a genus I have to begin again, selecting the [contrasting] characters striking out what is useless and tabulating the diagnoses which is always a long affair Then I write out my descriptions at home eliminating what is unnecessary and in doing this I often find essential points not sufficiently attended to and have to go over & reexamine many specimens — As it is the book is more voluminous and costly than I could wish but the publisher will not agree to a lower price and it would take more time than I can bestow still farther to condense it without omitting what is really useful[.] I now devote 6 hours a day at Kew and one or two here to it. I shall have a few interruptions now with my annual address³ etc but I hope to do most of that at odd times at home.

You talk about plans for the Supplement It is not at all likely that I shall live to write it and therefore as it will fall upon you you can arrange it in any way you think the most useful.

As soon as I receive the box by the Superb I shall forthwith go through your supplemental Goodenovieae Epacrideae etc and send off your Epacrideae — I trust you have safely received the box per Wave of Life.

I hope the 4th volume will take in all Monopetalae — but as the 3d was so thick I am bound to make the 4th thin to compensate

Ever yours sincerely

George Bentham

Dr F. Mueller

I would suggest that your assistants in writing the labels should be always careful in putting the name of the collector. I am often obliged to omit stations because I am not certain of the authority for them

Aldrovanda

Apocyneae

Apostasia nuda

Asclepiadeae

Asclepias

Ebenaceae

Epacrideae

Gomphocarpus

Goodenoviaea

Jasmineae­

Loganiaceae

Monopetalae

Myrsineae

Niemeyera

Primulaceae

Sapoteae

Stylidieae

Stylidium bryoides

Stylidium crossocephalum

Stylidium pedunculatum

Styraceae